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Researchers studying the health risks posed by gadolinium, a toxic rare earth metal used in MRI scans, have found that oxalic acid, a molecule found in many foods, can generate nanoparticles of the metal in human tissues. In a new paper, Brent Wagner, MD sought to explain the formation of the nanoparticles, which have been associated with serious health problems in the kidneys and other organs. "The worst disease caused by MRI contrast agents is nephrogenic systemic fibrosis," he said. "People have succumbed after just a single dose." The condition can cause a thickening and hardening of the skin, heart...

There are several strategies for the early detection of prostate cancer. The first step is often a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). If PSA levels exceed a certain threshold, the next step typically involves taking a tissue sample for analysis. Another option is to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to search for signs of a tumor before deciding whether a biopsy is necessary. Researchers conducted a study to determine whether this MRI-first approach is safe over the long term. Their findings show that this strategy poses no additional risk to patients for at least three years. This approach, in...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can spare many patients with rectal cancer from invasive surgery that can carry lifelong side effects, research indicates. The findings indicate that MRI can predict patient outcomes and the risk of the tumor recurring or spreading for patients who have undergone chemotherapy and radiation. That information could be extremely useful in determining the best course of treatment and deciding whether a patient can avoid surgery in favor of a "watch and wait" approach, the researchers say. "Now we have a powerful tool to help patients and their doctors predict who would benefit from surgery after initial...

A patient recently escaped a harrowing experience while waiting for an MRI in a Mountain View imaging room. A trainee brought a wheelchair – one that wasn't made to be near an MRI machine – into the room. And because of the magnetic force of the machine, the wheelchair was sucked across the room, attaching itself sideways to the MRI scanner door, narrowly missing the patient. This freak occurrence is raising concerns among safety advocates, including MRI safety expert, Tobias Gilk, who shared this example and images with KTVU. He said a witness sent him photos from Mountain View Center...

Opinion The scientific community celebrated April 14 as World Quantum Day to raise awareness of quantum science’s impact across diverse fields The world of science is on the cusp of a transformative era driven by the burgeoning field of quantum technology. Quantum science is founded on several key principles that underpin the behaviour of particles and systems at the quantum scale. The term “quantum scale” refers to the realm of physics that deals with phenomena occurring at very small scales, typically at the level of atoms, subatomic particles and fundamental particles. It encompasses the principles of quantum mechanics, which govern...

MRI of the prostate, combined with a blood test, can help determine if a prostate lesion is clinically significant cancer, research suggests A new meta-analysis suggests doctors and patients can avoid unnecessary prostate biopsies by combining MRI of the prostate findings with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density. To doctors, clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) is prostate cancer that has a high chance of threatening a patient's life. MRI of the prostate can provide some of this information. Still, a biopsy is traditionally needed to determine how aggressive the cancer cells look. This study tested a new approach: combining MRI-based prostate imaging...

On Thursday, the U.S. government sold the Federal Helium Reserve, a massive underground stockpile based in Amarillo, Texas, that supplies up to 30% of the country’s helium. Once the deal is finalized, the buyer — which will likely be the highest bidder, the industrial gas company Messer — will claim some 425 miles of pipelines spanning Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma, plus about 1 billion cubic feet of the only element on Earth cold enough to make an MRI machine work. Regulatory and logistical issues with the facility threaten a temporary shutdown as it passes from public to private ownership, and...

A 57-year-old Wisconsin woman received superficial wounds to her right buttock earlier this year when a concealed firearm on her person was subjected to the powerful magnetism of an MRI device. Though her injuries were relatively minor, consisting of a clean entry and exit through subcutaneous tissue, the incident is yet another reminder of the potentially deadly consequences of taking a loaded firearm into places where loaded firearms have no place. Detailed in a report by the US Food and Drug Administration, the case follows a shockingly similar incident that took place in Brazil just a few months prior, in...

March 1 (UPI) -- The amount of helium in underground geological formations could satisfy thousands of years of global demand, researchers said in an article published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Like other essential commodities, there are supply-side concerns for helium as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Sanctions and other restrictions mean supplies from Russia's Amur plant, expected to satisfy about 35% of global demand, are no longer available. Researchers from Oxford University, Durham University and the University of Toronto estimate helium is a $6 billion market. The element is used in everything from fiber optics...

Physicians routinely prescribe an infusion containing gadolinium to enhance MRI scans, but there is evidence that nanoparticles of the toxic rare earth metal infiltrate kidney cells, sometimes triggering severe side effects, researchers have found. In the worst cases, gadolinium, an element that has no biologic function, can trigger nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, a painful disease that affects the skin and organs and is often fatal. Gadolinium-based contrast agents align with an MRI scanner's powerful magnetic field, making for sharper images, but because of its toxicity, the metal must be tightly bound to chelating molecules so that it can be filtered through...

Most people will be familiar with what an ultrasound image of an unborn baby looks like, but there are few who have likely ever seen what an unborn baby looks like in an MRI scan. MRI (or magnetic resonance imaging) uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to build up an image of the inside of the human body and can be very helpful if there is an issue with a pregnancy. As users on Reddit found out recently, however, MRI scans of an unborn baby can look strange to say the least - mainly due to the way the...

According to the largest study of its type, brain scans of individuals obtained as they engaged in different activities or even did nothing accurately indicated whether they were politically conservative or liberal. .... snip...

A 27-year-old father of two from the UK died of cancer — months after he had to beg for an MRI scan amid a slowdown during the coronavirus crisis. Sherwin Hall, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, died on Dec. 3, following an illness that began more than a year earlier. Hall first began experiencing groin pain in September 2019 that subsided and re-emerged in January — and was given antibiotics both times, he wrote on a GoFundMe page back in May. He thought he was feeling better, but then the pain returned “with a vengeance” in March, when he experienced pain...

Hi all, just a follow-up on a post I made here about 3 weeks regarding a MRI I had attempted and bailed/panic buttoned on. Well, without issue, I ended up doing the MRI in the open type machine this past Easter morning to try to find out why I've been experiencing bad headaches for the last 2-3 weeks. I get into work the next morning(Monday) and my Dr calls me with the results and tells me to go to the emergency room. "I say, when?" He says, "now!" Turns out I have a partial tear in my right neck artery...better...

So I've been having very bad sinus issues for the longest time and finally got my Dr to schedule me for a cat scan which resulted in mild mucosal thickening within the floor of the maxillary sinuses. Also, it found I had a non specific boney loss/defect at the right skull base as well as TMJ degenerative changes. This scan ultimately led to my Dr ordering an MRI. Well, this past Monday I went in to do the MRI. I was all prepped up and asked the tech how long it was gonna take...45 mins he said. I go, YIKES!...

The death highlights a major issue civic-run hospitals have — patients’ relatives have to conduct work meant for hospital’s class II and III employees.A 32-year-old man died at BYL Nair Municipal Hospital in Mumbai on Saturday night after he was reportedly sucked into a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine while holding a metallic oxygen cylinder in his hand. Three people, including a doctor, have been arrested. Rajesh Maruti Maru (32) had accompanied his sister’s mother-in-law, Laxmibai Solanki, to the hospital’s MRI section for a test. Around 8.30 pm, he reportedly got trapped with a leaking oxygen cylinder inside the MRI...

Actor Chuck Norris and his wife Gena Norris filed a lawsuit last week against several healthcare companies, alleging Ms. Norris was poisoned by a chemical used during MRI scans, according to a report from The Washington Post. The lawsuit claims Ms. Norris developed gadolinium deposition disease after undergoing several MRI exams, later experiencing debilitating pain, a burning sensation throughout her body and cognitive deficits, among other issues. Gadolinium is a metal used as a contrasting agent to enhance the visibility of organs and other tissues during MRIs when clinicians determine the information from the imaging scan outweighs the chemical's risks....

While individuals have been playing musical instruments that require vibrating lips to produce sound since before the dawn of recorded time – we need only think of the shofar, didgeridoo, and conch shell to begin a list of lip-blown aerophones of ancient origin – there is much about playing such instruments that remains a mystery. Whether thousands of years old or made last week at a modern brass instrument factory, the fundamental changes to brasses over the millennia have been those of material, construction and ergonomics rather than actual tone production. As every school child that has ever picked up...

Anyone have trouble with MRIs being too confining? I couldn't get through my first one....but, today, used Klonopin and a lavender washcloth to cover my eyes and breathed in the aroma. Worked great. No panic. Have upper back pain I needed diagnosed. What are your tips and tricks?

Even expensive MRIs, designed to detect even minute spinal cord changes, are at times unable to diagnose the cause of pain 58 years ago I made an unfortunate decision. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong Japanese girl. But the problem was not what you’re thinking! Rather, I was in Tokyo, travelling with my wife and her parents. My father-in-law and I decided to experience a Japanese massage at the Imperial Hotel. During the event a petite masseuse suddenly struck the side of my head with a hard blow. I swear to High Heaven...